Electrical wiring question

[gws]

How good or BAD is your electrical service you have now? Do you need any protections? Are you seeing brownouts or power surges? A whole house protector is a nice idea, just dont get any idea that its really going to protect the house from lighting or brownouts.

A for whole house GFCI, Even if one exist, I would never want one. Put them on the circutis that need them and let the breaker cover the rest.

As for conditioners, what is it conditioning? Can it hold 200amps during a brownout. Again, what do you need to protect vs what it would could to put such a device in.

Your computers, TV and AV equipment can be handled with a local UPS. most the rest of the house is going to be lights and inductive loads that usually dont need help.

Again, direct lightnight your NOT going to stop with any device. Minimize the damage maybe, not a direct strike is not going to be stopped by a little device.

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

Gary, I don't know how good or bad the service is. This'll be new service for me and it's just for the barn. Am I getting a little over enthused (a/k/a ****) about all of this?

 

[Inspector507]

Gary,
A power conditioner is not going to be worth the money in the barn, IMO. The main use for them is for sensitive electronic equipment. But I'd make sure, if it was my barn, that all outlets had GFCI protection in some manner.

 

[gws]

Do use GFCI outlets, do it at the breaker panel. Each GFCI outlet uses power even if nothing is plugged in.

 

[JATO_RaT]

Gary, I much prefer to use a good quality GFCI outlet rather then a GFCI breaker. Not only is it far more conveniant then going outside or to a subpanel inside to reset, but many calls I have made have simply been a triped GFCI breaker. A good GFCI outlet is less costly then a GFCI breaker as well. In California, we are not required to use a GFCI on commercial garage type installs but I always do. As an electrician, electricity still scares me to death. Rat...

 

[gws]

I just hate to pay all that money just to have outlets protected that spend most of their time unused. If I can centralize it to a breaker and as you pointed out a close by breaker I would prefer that. If your poping CFCI that often then you need to work on other issues first

 

[JATO_RaT]

Hey Gary, not quite sure what you meant by having to pay all that money for GFCI outlets going unused. You can centralize it to one GFCI outlet just like a breaker as well, it simply needs to be the first outlet in the circuit. I typically do the entire kitchen this way or at least those that require GFI protection. Garages and /or outside outlets will be completely wired off one GFI outlet as well. At any rate, the important thing is too put them in, even if they were not there when the home was built. Rat...

 

[MossRoad]

I agree with GWS on this one. For a pool, I'd prefer the breaker type. A GFCI only kills the power downstream from it, so, in an electrical box out in the yard on a post for the pool pump if you put the GFCI outlet out there, it will only kill the power on the outside of the outlet. All of the wires in the electric box are still hot, because the breaker in the house hasn't tripped. You could still get zapped if there was water in the box, poor insulation, etc. I know you would put a GFCI outlet first in the line, possibly back by the house, to protect the rest of the outlets in the line. This is the way my bathrooms are set up. But with a heavy appliance like this, I would use a dedicated circuit and run a seperate one for lights and accessories, also GFCI at the breaker.

But, like you said, and we all agree, use of some type of GFCI device is mandatory. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Also, you should have a way to disconnect power for servicing the filter. Most above ground pool pumps don't come with a switch, so you should incorporate one in the line near the outlet box, or you will have to unplug the pool pump everytime you need to backwash, etc... It is very tempting to grab the plug and pull it when you are wet and working on the filter. And you don't want to walk back to the house to flip the breaker. That's why I went with the heavy duty X10 appliance outlet and a keychain remote and a GFCI breaker. I never have to touch any of the electrical stuff and that makes me feel a little safer.

Edited by me.

So, you're wondering why I'm talking about a pool.... because I replied to the wrong post /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif.

You are correct that in a house, a breaker would be a pain. Outdoors, I prefer a breaker type GFCI.

Again, sorry for the confusion on my part. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif